Before we get to this week's episode, I wanted to briefly expand on my thoughts regarding Charles Widmore. Based on the timeline, what we know so far is that Widmore first met John Locke briefly in 1954. We also know that Locke was born a few years later, and that Richard was there when he was born, and also visited him as a child, which I would guess was reported back to Widmore on the island. Later, when Locke is older, Widmore has Abbadon talk Locke into going to Australia to go walkabout after he's paralyzed. Locke obviously then crashes on the island, and once he leaves, Widmore wants to help him get back to the island.

This whole series of events raises some interesting questions about Widmore's involvement in...well, everything. Since Widmore got Locke to go to Australia, does that mean he knew the fate of Oceanic 815? Is that why he staged the plane crash, because he knew what really happened to the plane? And if he knew, does that mean he obtained that information from Eloise Hawking? We know he has an extensive history with Hawking since she was on the island with him at one time, and we also know that he's still aware of her whereabouts (Per his meeting with Desmond), so it's not a stretch to infer that he learned about a "window" opening for entry to the island from Eloise. However, that makes me wonder why, if Widmore did know about the window, and knew about the flight, why he himself wasn't on the plane, if he does really want to return to the island.

The Widmore/Hawking relationship also leads me to believe that what I said last week about Ben and Hawking is probably true. Ben knew who Eloise Hawking is, they had probably even met and had maybe been on the island at the same time for a period of time. But I believe when Ben got off the island, that he wasn't entirely sure how to get back, and I don't think he was aware of The Lamp Post, or that Hawking was in it, so Locke's reveal to Ben that Eloise was supposed to help him led to his death, and also led Ben to Eloise, which we saw from them working together. It does make you wonder what Eloise's ultimate purpose is in this, though, if she really is/was helping out Widmore, and at the same time, clearly helping out Ben as well, even though the two are adversaries to say the least.

But anyways, that's just something to think about that I was pondering during Pop Up LOST last night.

Our new episode last night I thought was a fantastic character piece on Sawyer and Juliet that also gave us some nice exposition on the Dharma Initiative, their role on the island, as well as how our stranded survivors came to be in their "present day" Dharma jobs.

It appears that our friends are now stuck in 1974, at a time when the Dharma Initiative is still thriving on the island, in spite of the Others. At some point in time, Dharma struck a truce with the Others. We don't know the details of this truce, aside from the fact that Dharma killing any of the Others is against the rules. Richard Alpert (who else) appears to be the spokesperson for the Others, and I can't help but think that if Widmore was telling the truth to Locke, that he is still on the island as well, perhaps as the leader of the Others.

Horace is currently in charge of the Dharma Initiative, who we previously met in a dream of Locke's, before Locke discovers the mass grave for all the Dharma people. We also saw him welcome Ben and his father onto the island, and before that, in a moment I had previously forgotten about, he and his wife at the time Olivia (Ben's school teacher on the island) were present at Ben's birth on the side of the road. They were offering to help take Ben's mother to the hospital before she died. So we know that Horace is in charge when our survivors show up (and is apparently in charge until he dies in 1992 with everyone else), and we know that between that time and three years down the road, he will (presumably) marry Amy (Or Michelle Dessler for all you 24 people out there).

Charlotte is still on the island, albeit as a five-year old child at the moment, as she told Daniel before she died. Ben may or may not yet be on the island, but I would not be surprised at all if we encountered him as a child at some point in time while we're in the past. Dr. Chang is most likely around, he may have just been in another hatch at the time.

As far as our survivors go, we know that they've integrated into Dharma society in their three years with them. Sawyer has become head of security (If there's a job he was born to play, that's probably it), Miles is one of his security lackeys, Faraday is still an unknown, although from the season premiere it would appear that he is a construction worker, or an engineer, or something along those lines. Juliet meanwhile, is a jack of all trades apparently and can work as an auto mechanic, and Jin, well, we're not quite sure what Jin does yet aside from drive around and look for Locke. Sawyer seems to be a well respected member amongst the Dharma community, and he and Juliet are in love with each other, which is really only appropriate considering their fantastic chemistry together.

Everything seems to be going fantastically on the island, then Jack, Hurley and Kate show up and look to be ready to disrupt the harmony.

Let's go through some quick hits:

-For the record, I love the fact that it used to be Kate & Sawyer, and then Juliet & Jack, and now it's Jack & Kate (sort of) and Sawyer & Juliet. Oh, and Kate's gonna screw this up somehow and I'm going to hate her even more than I hate her now. Go back to messing up your own relationships, don't go around ruining others.

-Small side note, because I've discussed this people before, after their last time flash, Sawyer was still holding onto the rope, even though wherever they went to had no hole, and no well, and therefore no rope. So I think we can infer that anything that someone is touching, or holding, or sitting in (read: the boat when they were in the water and flashed) comes along with them, even if they didn't originally have it with them before they got there.

-Faraday said Charlotte disappeared because she died. I wonder if that's true, or if she disappeared because she already exists in the time period they ended up in. I think it may have been possible to see yourself when they were moving through time, but once they reached a fixed time period again, I wonder if there are rules against something like that. I could be totally off base, and she could very well have just stopped moving through time when she died, but it's a possible alternative.

-Hey look, it's the STATU...oh wait, nevermind it's gone. God this show is such a tease sometimes. People have been going on and on and on about the damn 4-toed foot from some statue that we saw at the end of Season 2, so they decide to finally show us the statue...for five seconds, and then they flash again and it's gone. Bastards. Tell us more!

-Hmm, a baby born on the island? And it was Amy's, so unless she was taking a vacation and got pregnant then, it would appear to have been conceived on the island as well. So...in 1974, babies are okay. But at some point in time, that becomes not okay, and the Others have to start importing children in order to keep their numbers up (Perhaps by 1988 when Rousseau had her baby?). I wonder if the baby has any significance in the grand scheme of things.

-I wonder what it feels like to have the woman that you love die in your arms, and then later that day see her again, only she's five years old. I think bizarre is an understatement.

-The character of Sawyer is fantastic; this can't be said enough. We never got to see his leadership abilities before because it was all about the power struggle between Jack and Locke, but he's really had the opportunity to come into his own. I thought his scene with Richard was great. He knew just what to say to not only tell Richard what his story was, but also to give him enough credibility so that Richard would believe him.

-"Your friend with the eyeliner" Easily line of the night.

-Sorry, need to gush about Sawyer a little more; loved the scene with him and Horace, talking about if three years is enough time to get over someone. We don't get to see it much, but when Sawyer actually opens up to people, that's some of the best stuff on the show right there.

-No more "Lost in Translation" Jin. Now we have "Speaks English with an accent" Jin.

-LeFleur? No wonder he goes by Sawyer. (EDIT: Sorry, forgot his real last name was Ford. My bad)

-Hey, remember Rose, and Bernard, and all the other redshirts with them? Anybody?

Alright, I think it's time to wrap this up. Next week it looks like Sayid will be introduced into the mix, and much to my chagrin it's looking more and more likely that Sun didn't end up in the past with the rest of them, which I can't say I'm happy about. Still holding out hope, though.